Chapter 067: Humanitarian Destruction
How terrifying.
Could it be that the God of Plague, Kart, used the power of pestilence to transform the inhabitants of his domain into their current state, calling it love?
Quite the God you are, even providing your people with drugs.
With that, the euphoria brought by the mysterious liquid has created a severe dependency among the inhabitants of the God of Plague's domain over time.
Everyone has effectively become a fanatic, reaching a point of no return.
Vorthis stroked his chin and began to ponder.
He was wondering what he should do next.
Firstly, the humans in the God of Plague's domain had already developed a strong addiction to those mysterious substances.
Even if he dealt with Kart, these humans would not be grateful.
After the God of Plague's demise—since gods cannot be completely eradicated—the power of pestilence lingering in the people would not disappear.
As a result, they would lose the continuous supply of joy provided by the God of Plague, and they would launch frenzied attacks against Vorthis.
Although these frenzied attacks seemed laughably weak and futile from the perspective of a God like Vorthis, he had no interest in saving an ungrateful crowd.
Could he solve the issues afflicting these humans?
The people had no other choice in becoming what they are now.
After all, it was a "blessing" from the God.
As subjects of the God of Plague, how could they refuse the great blessing?
In this era, where living sacrifices are commonplace, people might still make the same choice even if they understood the dangers.
What if he used his Manifestation power to eliminate the effects on them?
That would require manifesting a power capable of erasing the authority of pestilence. Such a power was beyond Vorthis' understanding and could only be created through the stacking of Manifestation energy.
The closer the power is to reality, the less energy is consumed; the more abstract, the greater the consumption.
After some calculations, saving these humans would cost him a total of fifteen Nightlights!
...
Nightlights were vital to Vorthis' future plans.
So, uh...
Cough, considering he had little connection to these humans, even Morax would have been powerless in such a situation.
Gazing at the domain of the God of Plague, Vorthis decided on a more pragmatic choice.
He resolved to uphold humanitarian principles, aiding these humans and freeing them from their suffering.
How would he help them escape this torment?
Vorthis pulled a Nightlight from his dimensional space.
The Nightlight emitted a faint glow, hidden by the invisibility field, so no one noticed Vorthis' presence.
With bold strides, he walked openly through the God of Plague's domain.
Eventually, he arrived at Kart's palace.
He entered through the front door, approaching the slumbering God of Plague. Kart seemed to be recovering from the previous day's exertions.
Being near Kart rapidly drained Vorthis' Manifestation energy to sustain the invisibility field.
Luckily, Kart was too relaxed to remain vigilant.
After all, who would stay on high alert at home?
Was Kart dealing with the lingering effects of a horror movie, imagining unknown terrors lurking in every corner of his palace?
Watching Kart in his meditative repose, Vorthis smirked.
He placed the Nightlight in front of the God of Plague, shrouded within the invisibility field.
Then, Vorthis swiftly distanced himself from the domain of the God of Plague.
Finally, he triggered the self-destruction of the Nightlight.
At the same time, he deactivated the invisibility field. After all, leaving the field on would render the entire explosion invisible.
Though the notion of an unseen explosion sounded amusing, concealing such a large-scale attack would require dozens of Nightlights—far too costly.
The moment the invisibility field was lifted, Kart sensed an immense energy beneath him.
He opened his eyes wide, only to see the rapidly swelling Nightlight.
Kart's lips parted slightly, but before he could utter the filthiest curse imaginable, the swelling Nightlight consumed him.
Within three seconds.
The entire domain of the God of Plague was engulfed by the Nightlight.
When the Nightlight reached its limit, it burst like an overinflated balloon, unleashing a cataclysmic explosion.
However, under Vorthis' deliberate control, the explosion spared the terrain from significant damage, though Kart's palace might eventually become a small artificial lake.
The invisibility field cost Vorthis three Nightlights, while the humanitarian act consumed one.
A total of just four Nightlights!
Compared to the cost of rescuing every human from their plight and removing all their afflictions, this solution was far more efficient.
With his task complete, Vorthis transformed into a white beam of light, departing the scene at light speed toward Guizoli.
The massive commotion caused by Vorthis immediately attracted the attention of neighboring Gods.
One by one, they converged on Kart's devastated domain.
Seeing the leveled land, the Gods exchanged uneasy glances, none daring to act rashly.
After surveying the scene, their collective gaze turned toward Guizoli.
They vividly recalled the explosion of the Nightlight.
In their minds, only one God could achieve such devastation—Zennos, the God of Manifestation.
He was also known by another name, the Sun God.
Rumors described him as a mischievous and dangerous God who enjoyed "planting suns" wherever he went.
No one understood how Kart had provoked this unpredictable deity.
After some investigation, the Gods pieced together the story:
Kart had previously attempted to ambush the God of Sword, an ally of Zennos.
Their friendship had endured despite the chaos of the Archon Wars.
The Archon War was a chaotic time, and the God of Sun, who came to visit, witnessed the God of Plague launching an attack on the God of Sword, Qingxu. Together with Qingxu, the God of Sun drove away the God of Plague.
However, the mischievous nature of the God of Sun caused lingering anger. The next day, he invaded the God of Plague's territory.
After a fierce battle, the God of Sun was ultimately defeated by the God of Plague.
Frustrated and fuming, the God of Sun resorted to his ultimate skill: planting a sun.
Thus, the scene witnessed before occurred—a new sun rose slowly over the territory of the God of Plague.
This version of events was pieced together by the Gods themselves through speculation and embellishment.
Not long after, news reached the God of Sword, Qingxu, that the God of Plague had fallen at the hands of the God of Sun.
Qingxu was stunned. He hadn't expected that after Zennos had departed, he didn't return directly to Guizoli but instead sought out the God of Plague.
Zennos's motive wasn't difficult to deduce.
From their earlier conversation, Qingxu surmised that Zennos feared the God of Plague would trouble Qingxu again after his departure.
Thus, Zennos decided to strike first and eliminate the God of Plague, Kart.
Thinking about this, Qingxu felt a mixture of emotions—gratitude being chief among them.
After resolving matters with the God of Plague, Vorthis returned to Guizoli.
Sensing Vorthis's presence in Guizoli, the God of Dust, Guizhong, immediately approached him.
Guizhong scrutinized Vorthis for a while before asking, "Huh? Zennos, weren't you supposed to bring Qingxu here? Why don't I see him?"
After Vorthis left Guizoli, Morax had informed Guizhong and Marchosius about the possibility of Vorthis recruiting Qingxu to join Guizoli.
Hearing this, Guizhong and Marchosius had no objections and agreed to Qingxu joining.
Initially, Guizhong wanted to personally welcome their new ally.
Thus, as soon as she sensed Vorthis's return, she hurried over.
Yet, Qingxu was nowhere to be seen.
"Ah? Guizhong, you already knew?"
"I mentioned the idea to Qingxu, but he declined. So, there was nothing I could do," Vorthis said, a little helplessly.
"Qingxu declined?" Guizhong appeared puzzled. "Why? Does he not trust us?"
She speculated that the trust between Gods had crumbled to almost nothing since the start of the Archon War.
Even alliances were rare, with Guizoli being a precious exception on the continent of Teyvat.
"I'm not sure what Qingxu was thinking specifically," Vorthis replied. "He said he prefers freedom and dislikes restrictions, but perhaps trust was also a factor."
Vorthis felt slightly disheartened. He had hoped Qingxu would agree to his proposal.
Guizhong, noticing Zennos's mood, reassured him, "We've never met Qingxu, and trust is a fragile thing. Rebuilding it will take time. But I believe Qingxu will eventually see our sincerity. For now, let's give him time to think."
"Understood, Guizhong," Vorthis replied.
He then returned to his palace, entering meditation to recover and strengthen his power.
Meanwhile, Morax, learning of Zennos's encounter with Qingxu, wasn't surprised. He had anticipated such an outcome.
Ten years passed swiftly.
In the southwestern region near Qingxu's domain, the death of the God of Plague disrupted the balance.
Conflicts among Gods became increasingly fierce. What once resembled duels escalated into all-out wars, as Gods no longer feared full-scale confrontations.
However, one sanctuary remained untouched by chaos: Qingxu's land, Qingtian Harbor.
After Vorthis's visit and his slaying of the God of Plague, a clear message was sent: Qingxu, the God of Sword, was under the protection of Vorthis, the God of Sun.
In the following decade, other Gods began to avoid Qingxu's domain.
While Qingxu never provoked anyone, no one wanted to risk the wrath of the God of Sun and have a new sun planted in their own territory.
Even those confident in their defenses dared not test Vorthis's retaliation.
Meanwhile, the Tianheng Mountain Frontline was frequently besieged by monsters attempting to break through into the peaceful Guizoli Plains.
Yet, the God of the Stove, Marchosius, and the Millelith Brigade staunchly defended the line. No monsters were allowed to breach and wreak havoc.
In the years that followed, Guizhong built 15 additional Guizhong Ballista to reinforce the frontlines.
With these Ballista, even Gods found it impossible to cross the Tianheng Mountain Frontline.